Table of Contents
Three spots worth building a day or evening around, all within reach of the beach. One’s a daytime café, one’s built for sunset, one’s built for staying late. Here’s the honest rundown.
MACO Cafe
Best for: breakfast or a slow coffee right on the sand, and one of the few spots on this stretch where dogs are genuinely welcome
MACO Cafe is an open-air spot directly on Laem Mae Phim beach, part of the same small group as CHIM cafe further along. It’s a simple setup – no garden or run-around space – but at low tide the beach itself becomes the extension, and you can walk straight down onto the sand from your table.
The menu is café-standard rather than a full kitchen: breakfast plates, coffee and cold drinks, cake, ice cream.
Good to know:
- Open Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:30pm, Sat-Sun 8am-6pm
- Dog-friendly, any size, inside the café
- No on-site bathroom – use the hotel across the road (small fee)
- Parking is roadside out front, not a dedicated lot
- Under 100 THB per person for coffee and a snack
She Sails Cafe & Beach Club
Best for: sunset drinks and a proper meal on the sand, especially for couples
She Sails sits right on the beach in Chak Phong, a few minutes outside Mae Phim proper. The entrance doesn’t announce itself – you’ll park on the roadside and get waved through a narrow path before the venue opens up on the other side. Once you’re in, it’s a genuine beach club setup: restaurant, bar, swing seating, and enough space that it doesn’t feel packed even when busy.
Food runs beyond café standards – cha-muang leaf pork curry, sun-dried pork, and seafood fried rice come up repeatedly as the dishes worth ordering, at prices that match the portions. There’s a daily happy hour, roughly 4-7pm, with drinks on a 1-for-1 deal. A fire show runs every Saturday at 8:30pm.
The salmon toast is worth going back for on its own.
Good to know:
- Cafe: 9am-6pm / Food: until 10pm / Bar: until 11pm
- Fire show Saturdays, 8:30pm
- Happy hour roughly 4-7pm daily
- Expect 250-500 THB per person for food
- Bugs can be an issue after dark, by the beach
- Entrance is easy to miss – watch for it rather than the signage
Drift Bar
Best for: fire shows and a beach party atmosphere, especially with the surf crowd
Drift Bar sits right on the beach and pulls a mixed crowd of locals and tourists rather than one or the other. It’s less a “have a quiet drink” spot and more a “hang out for a few hours” one – full food menu alongside the bar, and fire shows are part of the draw rather than a special occasion.
The menu runs wider than most beach bars: burgers, tacos, a decent pasta selection, and a full Thai food section alongside the usual snacks and sandwiches. It’s a place you could eat a proper meal, not just grab a bag of chips with your beer.
One of the team’s regular hangout spots – genuinely, not just for the article.
Good to know:
- Right on the beach
- Full food menu (Western and Thai)
- Fire shows are a regular feature
At a Glance
| Venue | Best for | Price range | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MACO Cafe | Coffee, slow mornings on the sand | Under 100 THB / person | Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:30pm, Sat-Sun 8am-6pm |
| She Sails Cafe & Beach Club | Sunset, date night, a proper meal | 250-500 THB / person | Cafe 9am-6pm, food until 10pm, bar until 11pm |
| Drift Bar | Fire shows, beach party atmosphere | 80-200 THB / dish | All day |
FAQ
Do you need a reservation?
For beanbag seating right on the sand at She Sails, especially on weekends, it’s worth messaging ahead. The other two are walk-in.
Is there a cover charge for the fire shows?
Not that we’ve found – they’re part of the regular evening at both venues, not a ticketed event.
None of these are trying to be Bangkok rooftop bars, and that’s the point. What they share is proximity to the beach and a lack of pretension – order what looks good, stay for the sunset or the fire, and don’t expect much beyond that. We send guests to all three depending on what kind of evening they want.